The "miracle of childbirth" is preceded by a lot of other crucial miracles that enable this wondrous event to take place. Chief among these is conception. For women and their partners who have had little or no trouble conceiving, it may be hard to appreciate the frustration and heartbreak felt by couples who do have difficulty becoming pregnant.Fortunately, for many of these people, there are several courses of treatment, including one long-standing option, artificial insemination. For the details on this technique, I consulted Dr. Anne Namnoum, director of assisted reproductive technology in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Happy birthday cuties! Panda cubs Po and De De discover and then devour the cake made to celebrate their first birthday. The cubs were partying during celebration in their honor this month at the Madrid Zoo. The panda cubs were born on September 7, 2010 in Madrid. They are the first giant panda twins to be born by artificial insemination outside China.

Stung by the death of a 4-month-old dolphin that was roughed up by two older males, the chief scientist at the National Aquarium in Baltimore has launched a review of the dolphin breeding program that he expects will lead to major changes. "I am evaluating this entire colony in terms of what kind of breeding program we will have. It is going to be restructured. There's no doubt about that," said Dr. Joseph R. Geraci, the aquarium's senior director of biological programs and an international authority on marine mammals.

By David G. Savage and David G. Savage,Tribune Washington Bureau | November 30, 2008

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is planning to announce a broad new "right of conscience" rule permitting medical facilities, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care workers to refuse to participate in any way in morally "objectionable procedures" such as abortion and possibly including birth control and artificial insemination. For more than 30 years, federal law has dictated that doctors and nurses may refuse to perform abortions. The new rule would go further by making clear that health care workers may also refuse to provide information or advice about abortion to patients.

The National Aquarium announced yesterday that it will make major changes in its dolphin breeding program - a month after an ailing 4-month- old dolphin died the day she was roughed up by two adult dolphins. The aquarium is considering shipping adult male dolphins to other facilities, abandoning the importation of adult males for breeding and switching instead to artificial insemination for its next generation of calves. Aquarium officials said that none of the options is final, but that all are likely candidates.

Happy birthday cuties! Panda cubs Po and De De discover and then devour the cake made to celebrate their first birthday. The cubs were partying during celebration in their honor this month at the Madrid Zoo. The panda cubs were born on September 7, 2010 in Madrid. They are the first giant panda twins to be born by artificial insemination outside China.

Current law states:"A person may not be required to perform or participate in, orefer to any source for, any medical procedure that results in artificial insemination, sterilization, or termination of pregnancy."Law enacted by General Assembly and signed by Gov. William Donald Schaefer states:"A person may not be required to perform or participate in any medical procedure that results in artificial insemination, sterilization, or termination of pregnancy."*The new law, said Delegate Samuel I. Rosenberg, D-Baltimore, abortion-rights advocate, "strikes the proper balance between the religious beliefs between every health practitioner of this state and the medical obligations of that health practitioner."

The racehorse breeding industry -- both thoroughbred an Standardbred -- has taken a beating recently due to unfavorable economic conditions, but Jim Steele of Shamrock Farms is tackling the problem.Steele, manager of Shamrock Farms in Westminster, a breeding facility for Standardbreds and thoroughbreds, thought that the time had come for Shamrock to capitalize on its assets."With the shrinking thoroughbred market, I wanted us to become a full-service breeding station," Steele said recently.

DR. CECIL JACOBSON is on trial this week in federal court in Alexandria, Va. He was indicted on 53 counts of fraud and perjury.The 55-year-old general practitioner faces these charges not because he bilked Medicaid or practiced with a phony medical degree. Dr. Jacobson is alleged to have used his own sperm 75 times to artificially inseminate women without telling them or anyone else that he was the donor. He also stands accused of administering hormones to women to falsely convince them that they were pregnant.

Anna and Dolly - the Baltimore's Zoo's beloved elephants - are sending out valentines this year in hopes that people will open their hearts and their wallets with $285,000 needed by Valentine's Day to help the zoo reach its $1 million fund-raising goal and to obtain a $1 million matching grant. The zoo has received $715,000 from individuals and businesses since announcing in November that it was laying off 20 workers, reducing its collection by 400 animals and shipping Dolly and Anna to another zoo on a "breeding loan."

I cringed when I read recently that the Food and Drug Administration had declared that food from cloned animals is safe to eat. Could this mean I would have to struggle with yet another decision about what to put on my dinner table? Already I wrestle with whether my seafood is sustainable, my coffee is shade-grown and my beer is organic. But the more I looked into this matter, the more I realized that I was not going to have to take any quick stance about whether to serve cloned burgers for supper.

CHICAGO - Critics of gay rights insist that in opposing same-sex marriage they are trying to protect children. But when the California Supreme Court said this week that lesbian partners have the same responsibilities to their children as other parents, conservatives took a different line: If what's good for the kids is also good for gay rights, it must be bad. The court ruled in three different cases, and in each of them, as the Los Angeles Times put...

The National Aquarium announced yesterday that it will make major changes in its dolphin breeding program - a month after an ailing 4-month- old dolphin died the day she was roughed up by two adult dolphins. The aquarium is considering shipping adult male dolphins to other facilities, abandoning the importation of adult males for breeding and switching instead to artificial insemination for its next generation of calves. Aquarium officials said that none of the options is final, but that all are likely candidates.

Stung by the death of a 4-month-old dolphin that was roughed up by two older males, the chief scientist at the National Aquarium in Baltimore has launched a review of the dolphin breeding program that he expects will lead to major changes. "I am evaluating this entire colony in terms of what kind of breeding program we will have. It is going to be restructured. There's no doubt about that," said Dr. Joseph R. Geraci, the aquarium's senior director of biological programs and an international authority on marine mammals.

Anna and Dolly - the Baltimore's Zoo's beloved elephants - are sending out valentines this year in hopes that people will open their hearts and their wallets with $285,000 needed by Valentine's Day to help the zoo reach its $1 million fund-raising goal and to obtain a $1 million matching grant. The zoo has received $715,000 from individuals and businesses since announcing in November that it was laying off 20 workers, reducing its collection by 400 animals and shipping Dolly and Anna to another zoo on a "breeding loan."

Allen E. Paulson sighed, then said: "This has gotten out of hand."The New York Post, doing its best impersonation of the Weekly World News, splashed across yesterday's front page a large photograph of the striding Maryland-bred champion and this blaring, overbearing headline: "CLONE BUT NO CIGAR! Owner mulls new technique for stud dud."The owner is Paulson, the 74-year-old aviation tycoon who campaigned Cigar during his 16-race winning streak and two consecutive Horse of the Year titles.Now that the 7-year-old Cigar, retired to what racing fans hoped would be a successful career as a stallion, is apparently infertile, is Paulson really considering cloning him?

CHICAGO - Critics of gay rights insist that in opposing same-sex marriage they are trying to protect children. But when the California Supreme Court said this week that lesbian partners have the same responsibilities to their children as other parents, conservatives took a different line: If what's good for the kids is also good for gay rights, it must be bad. The court ruled in three different cases, and in each of them, as the Los Angeles Times put...

By David Zurawik and David Zurawik,Sun Television Critic | September 17, 1990

"Babies" is about baby boomers: having babies, wanting to but not being able to have babies, obsessing about having babies, adopting babies and, in some cases, deciding not to have babies.The made-for-TV movie, which airs at 9 tonight on WMAR-TV (Channel 2), is television doing one of the things it does best and worst: sociology. It is entertainment television plugging into and dramatizing a real social movement.Often when made-for-TV movies do that, they are more exploitative than illuminating.

These are confusing times for women. A best-selling book questions the legitimacy of "date rape." Men are lauded for working outside of the home. Women who do so can lose custody of their children for being too neglectful. Shannon Faulkner might have to submit to a buzz cut to prove she would make a good Citadel cadet. Even after the Tailhook affair, female cadets at West Point are groped by their peers at a football game.Although two Supreme Court Justices are women and the first lady participates in her husband's administration, polls have found that most women are reluctant to be identified as feminists.

The "miracle of childbirth" is preceded by a lot of other crucial miracles that enable this wondrous event to take place. Chief among these is conception. For women and their partners who have had little or no trouble conceiving, it may be hard to appreciate the frustration and heartbreak felt by couples who do have difficulty becoming pregnant.Fortunately, for many of these people, there are several courses of treatment, including one long-standing option, artificial insemination. For the details on this technique, I consulted Dr. Anne Namnoum, director of assisted reproductive technology in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.